Game apparatus



Mmh 19, 1935. F, W, MLLER 1,994,862

GAME APPARATUS Filed DeC. 13, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 19 Irs 2O FIG, 5

f8 1o 5@ 19 12 A IH 9J 1s March 19, 1935. F. W, MULLER 1,994,862

GAME APPARATUS Filed Dec. 13, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. 19,1935 HAN-Siren STATES :FFICE in Germany Claims.

'I'he object of my invention is to provide for indoor and outdoor use agame. device or plaything which will be of simple construction and call.for the exercise of a reasonable amount of :IiiA skillfin its use, whichwill render the game fascinating or attractive.

A. characteristic feature of the invention is the use with asuitablehandle oi a disc or wheel form member that caribe set in motionby peripheral contact` with such a` surface as thatof a table top, thelicor. or ground,.and by manipulation of the handle may be thrownfromthe handle into the air and then caught by a catching device ordevices located. atdierentpoints along` the handle. l5;- My inventionconsists in whatever is'described by or is included within the termsforscope of the appended claims;

Inthe drawings:V

Figs. 1 and 2 are side and end elevations respectively of one embodimentoi Vmy invention;

Fig. 3 is a cross-section on the line 3-3Voi Fig.` 1, withthe'rollingimember situated in the bearing for hurlingor throwing itinto the air;

Figs. 4, and 5 are, respectively, `side and end viewsofanotherembodiment of myinvention;

Figs. 6 and '7 are respectively, side and end elevations ofiyetv anotherembodiment of my invention;

Figs. Sand 9 are endviews of still other embodiments of my invention;and

Figs; 10,. 11` and 12 are, respectively, side elevations of as manydifferent embodiments of my invention. having characteristics ofconstruction speciallysuited'for indoor tableuse.

This application is a' continuation in part of my United Statesapplication No; 510,288led January 2l, 1931, and in fact Figs. 1, 2` andV3-of the drawingsherein-are copies of: Figs` 1, 2 and 4 ofAthedrawingfof that application.

All; of the various embodiments of my invention showninthedrawingshaveincommon, a handle with ahandgrip at` one end andV at what is the lowerend in trundlingthe rollingmember alcngwhich endY is forked to-Vstraddle the roll- 'f ing member,.there are two bearings for the,pivots of' such: member for successive use, one of which by a. forwardthrust on the handle with therolling member, in contact with a floorortable enablesv thefrolling vmember to be rapidly revolved, andthe othervof! which, after the freeing of the rst-mentioned bearing from thepivots, is engageable'with the pivots-and' fromfwhich by an upwardmovement othe, lower end of the handle r therolling member may be hurledwhile in a "5 state ofrapidlrevolution' andt thereafter caught July 25,1932 and held by the same or a similar handle as the apparatus is usedin asolitary game or in asocial game. Obviously, in the use of theapparatus, there is call upon the playerfor quickness, dexterity andalertness, and he is induced totake considerable bodily exercise inplaying with the apparatus.

Describing rstwhat is shown in Figs'. 1, `2 and 3, the handle, thatis-to. say, the rolling member revolving and throwing and'catchingmember, is 10v a substantially stra-ight rod, or stick, of alength toextend from the hand of the player to the ground, or door, having at theupper end ahandgrasping or. gripping portion, 1D, and being forked atthe lower end to provide opposite forks, 11, to 15 accommodate the discor wheel, 12, each lower end of the fork having downwardly openingbear-- ings 13, that, respectively, engage the opposite ends of thewheel pintle 14; so that the device may be trundled along the floor orground and the wheel'set in motion, andat will, the handle detached fromthe rolling wheel-and at the same time given an upward-jerk to throw thedetached wheel into theair. Besides thebearings 13, at the lower sideofthe forks, the forks have on the upper Yside upwardly open orhook-shape bearings 15, to engage the pintle 14.

At a suitable-distance above'the fork bearings 13 and 15, there is awheel catching device-in the form of two plates 16, secured to the forkson the opposite sides, as by screwswhich on the upper side of the handlehave outwardly opening-bearings toreceive the wheel pintle 14, when` bya skillful toss oru upward throw of the revolving wheel the pintle maybe caught or lodged-in such bearings and its revolutionoontinued in thespace between the forks. As indicated in dotted lines in Fig; 1, theside of the wheel may have numbered graduations in a circletorcooperate. with a pointer 17, formed on each plate 16, so that ascore or points in playingv a game may be made.

Preferably the plates 16 are of rubber so that noise in use of thedevice may be avoided andso that there may be some cushioning effectwhen the wheel pintle falls into engagement with the plates.

, Above the bearing plates 16,.there are opposite lateral recesses 18,in the opposite, spaced sides 19, of the handle, through which when theApintle 14, is thereat by the movement of the wheel along the upper sideof the handlethe pintlemay'pass and the wheel permitted to fall through,out of engagement with the handle.

The wheel or. rolling member may be made of aluminum' iiV desired, and.itsV peripherali surface may have a rubber tire or rim so that inrunning the wheel along a door indoors, no objectionable noise willresult.

Near the handle or hand-gripping end 10, may be attached a loop 20, thatmay be slipped. over the arm of the player to carry the handle fromplace to place.

Referring to what is shown in Figs. 4 and 5, it will be seenthat'instead of providing a slot or slots in the handle to receive thehurled disc or wheel, the handle is in the form of a straight,

metal, thin shank 21, and the wheel has an annular slot 22, reachingfrom its periphery inward of a width to straddle the handle and therebyengage therewith, the disc having a central hub to limit the passage ofthe disc over the handle.` And the two bearings at the forked end of thehandle are at opposite ends of a notch in the upper side of each branchof the fork and spaced longitudinally of the handle from one another,the upper open-ended bearing, 23, being opposite the lower open-endedbearing 24, and the transfer of bearing contact with the wheel pivotsbeing ef fected by pulling thehandle upward to disengage it from thepushing or thrust bearing and to engage it with the hurling bearing.

As shown in Fig. 4, the side surfaces of the disc may carry ornamentalor other matter, such as fantastic figures or pictures or portraits ofhuman faces or verbal inscriptions. As shown, a comical human face isprinted or painted upon the disc side. n

Referring to Figs. 6 and 7, it will be seen that the forked lower end ofthe handle is, in regard to the relative position of the bearings,similar to what is shown in Fig. 4 and on the sides of the wheel or discare numerals which, in cooperation with pointers on the side of thehandle, at different points along its length, give a score value tol thedropping of the hurled disc at the marked points on the handle. YThesemarked points, with a numerical value, are at shallow notches ordepressions 25, in the top edge of Vthe handle.` The handle, as shown'best in Fig. 7,- is formed by two similar, but opposite shanks or blades26,

each with a hand grip at its upper end, which are movable towards andfrom one another in order to provide the slot or space to receive thehurled disc, and to clamp the same to arrest itat a desired point alongthe handle. Normally the two handle members are thrust apart by a lightcoil spring 27, attached to the respective hand grips and tending tothrust them apart so that a squeezing pressure by the hand on the handgrips is necessary to clamp the disc caught between the two handlemembers.

Referring to Figl 8,the handle is provided with two side by sidelongitudinally extending slots 28, in either of which the hurled rollingmember may be caught, and besides, a thirdrslot maybe provided byspreading apart two normally closed strips 29, which extendlongitudinally of the handle (and which when closed provide the innerside of the two slots). Said strips are elastic or spring rods whichterminate in outwardly bowed hand grips 30, which upon being squeezedto-` gether by pressure of the hand cause the bowing apart or" saidstrips 29, as indicated in Fig. 8 in dotted lines, to provide the thirdand then single, disc-receiving slot.

Referring to Fig. 9, the construction of the handle is similar to thatof Fig. 'l with the addition of two other slots formed by a light rod orstrip 3l, spaced sidewise apart from the other handle strips and movablewith them when they are moved towards and from one another as themanipulation described in the case of what is shown in Fig. 7.

Such embodiments of my inventionV as have thus far been described arespecially adapted for outdoor use whereV the disc or rolling member istrundled over the ground or pavement. For indoor use, the embodiments ofmy invention shown in Figs. 10 to 12 are better suited because forindoor use, the apparatus must be smaller and the conditions of indooruse do not permit the swinging and other manipulation of the handle forhurling the rolling member which exists in the case of outdoor use. Iaccordingly, as in the construction shown in Figs. 10 to 12, provide special means, such as spring devices, for imparting the hurling movementto the rolling member so that swinging of the handle itself is notdepended on and such swing would be inconvenient for indoor use becauseof the contracted space in such a case.

As shown in Fig. 10, the Yhandle is made in two parts joined end toendby a flatV spring 32, adjacent the fork by which a nipping and forciblemovement can be imparted to the forked wheelengaging or carrying part ofthe devicejtofhurl the disc or wheel from .the supporting bearing whichin the case of Fig.'10 and also of Figs.'11 and 12, is similar to thatshown in Figs. 5 and 6.

Referringto Fig. 11, the handle has attached to it a spring 33, havingan arm 34, which is placed under tension and lies against the undersideof the handle, and the arm is held by a. trigger-like slidable latch 35,in convenient reach of the hand grasping the grip end of the handle.When the latch is withdrawn, the arm 34 is re-V leased and swingsforward and strikes with considerable force the underside of the pivotsVof the wheel, or disc Vand thereby flings or hurls the wheel or discout of the hurling bearing into the air. v l

In Fig. l2, the handle is jointed so that the forked end has a pivot 36,and there is a spring including'an arm 340 corresponding to arm 34,Fig.` 1l and Va coil concentric with the pivot which forcibly swings thefork upward to hurl the disc or wheel therefrom, when a slidabletrigger-like latch 37, is pulled to free the spring arm 340, for action,Vthe arrangement being similar to that of Fig. 1l.

In Fig. 11, a stop 38, arrests the spring when it swings upward; and inFig. 12, a stop 39, arrests upward movement of the fork under the actionof the spring. It willbe understood that in the case of Fig. 11, thereis a flipping spring arm at each side of the disc.

'In the case of each embodiment of my invention shown in Figs. 10, 11and 12, the handle has pivoted to it a longitudinally slottted arm, 40,with a series of spaced apart notches 41, in its upper edge forcatching, according to the skill of the player, the hurled disc by thelodgment of the pivots in one or the other of the notches. Each notch isgiven a numerical value for score purposes. The bar may be swung to aposition alongside the handle or when in use and swung upward at anincline as shown inveach of Figs. 10, 11 and 12, it is there supportedby a brace 42.

If desired, as shown in Fig. 4, in addition to the two bearings in thefork, onev for pushing or trundling the rolling member and the other foruse to hurl it rin the air, a third bearing 43, may be provided which isin the form of a notch 44, to engage the pivots as a convenient means ofholding the disc to the handle when the apparatus is not being used.

I contemplate if desired, having each of the pushing and hurlingbearings in the fork closed by an openable latch or bolt which willprevent the accidental disconnection of the rolling member from thehandle, but which is readily movable, automatically if desired, torelease the pivots from the bearings. When I use the term open asapplied to such bearings, it is to be understood it includes such anarrangement.

When the rolling member is in the form of a hat disc, it may be made invarious ways. It can,'for example, be a metal disc with a rubber tireseated in an annular groove in the periphery of the disc; it can be adisc of rubber conned between thin metal plates on opposite sides andprovided with an annular groove or slot when the form of handle shown inFigs. 4 and 5 is employed; or as shown in Fig. 5, it may consist of twospaced apart rubber discs clamped or held between the two outer metaldiscs and an intermediate metal disc. The disc has preferably a rubbertire or periphery so that the disc will be suicently elastic to bound orrebound on striking a surface and so that it will not injure articles offurniture or other objects which it may strike, and preferably the outerends of the pivots are tipped with rubber pieces 45, as shown in Fig. 5,for like reasons.

What I claim is:

1. Game apparatus comprising a handle and a loosely associated rollingmember, the rolling member having handle-engaging pivots, the handlehaving a plurality of bearings for the rol1 ing member situated atdifferent points along the length of the handle adapted for successiveengagement by the rolling member pivots, the handle movable withrelation to the rolling member to separate one bearing from the pivotsand to cause engagement of another of such bearings with the pivots fromwhich last-mentioned bearing the rolling member is bodily shiftableupwardly, said last-mentioned bearing opening upward to permit thebodily shifting of the rolling member upward into the air while therolling member is in rotation, such rotation being imparted to it bymoving it in Contact with a horizontal surface while loosely engagedwith said rst-mentioned bearing.

2. Game apparatus as in claim l in which the handle is forked tostraddle the rolling member and two of the plurality of bearings arecarried by the forks and open outward whereby the rolling member pivotsmay pass out of engagement with one bearing and into engagement with theother, and said rolling member may be bodily displaceable from saidlast-named bearing.

3. Game apparatus for rolling over a surface a rolling member inperipheral contact with such surface, hurling and catching such member,comprising a handle with a grip portion and having a plurality ofbearings for engagement with such member, said bearings situated atseparated points along the handle, one of which acts on such member tomove it over said surface to impart rotation thereto when the handle ismoved longitudinally by hand, another of which opens upwardly and servesto support said rolling member while rotating and from which the membermay be projected, said rolling member and said handle being separable toenable the various handle bearings to be successively used.

v 4. Apparatus as in claim 1 in which for peripheral interengaging ofrolling member and handle a slot is provided in one of said parts intowhich the other is adapted to enter.

5. Apparatus as in claim l in which the handle is slotted for thepassage thereinto of the rolling member, said rolling member being ofdisc form.

6. Apparatus as in claim l having rolling member clamping means to x theposition of the rolling member when lodged on the handle.

7. Apparatus as in claim l having rolling member clamping means to X theposition of the rolling member when lodged on the handle, said. clampingmeans being opposite side walls of a slot in the handle movable at willtowards and from one another.

8. Apparatus as in claim l in which the rolling member and the handlehave complementary value denoting indicia.

9. Apparatus as in claim 1 in which the handle intermediate its ends isslotted with the opposite sides of the slot spaced to permit thedropping into the slot of the rolling member, the sides of the slot attheir upper edges forming bearing contacts for the rolling memberpivots.

l0. Apparatus as in claim 1 in which the handle has spring means toproject the rolling member from the handle.

FREIDRICH WILHELM MULLER.

